Till Death Due Us Apart
by SpeedDemon315
Summary: Ever since he was gone, she never was the same. The world was warm and cheery while she was cold and dreary. She thought there was no hope left for her…or was there? Oneshot, character death [SasorixSakura]
1. Till Death Due Us Apart

**Till Death Due Us Apart**

**Summary: **Ever since he was gone, she never was the same. The world was warm and cheery while she was cold and dreary. She thought there was no hope left for her…or was there? Oneshot; character death SasorixSakura

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Simple as that. If I somehow did, than it would much different from its original attire. _Completely different. _**

Text:

Words

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

_**Flashback

* * *

**_

Everything was cold. Deeply cold. Her skin was icy while her body was numb and frozen. She never felt the warmth again, ever since her lover had died. There was no happiness in her life, for how could there be? He was all she ever wanted and she was all he needed. Now that he was gone, what was her purpose in life? She had a black hole for a heart and shattered soul. She was a half person.

"**_I shall love you forever, Sakura. I will never forget you."_**

He never did forget her. He stayed true his words and was always there for her. He never let her down, never broke her heart. He was her savior, her everlasting love.

"_**I love you."**_

He meant it with all his heart. Sakura could see it blazing in his eyes. She loved him and he loved her. There was nothing else to it. It was simple yet mighty. They shared a powerful bond through their hearts and their souls were one. Together, their love seemed invincible.

"_**When I'm with you, I feel so much stronger then I do alone. It's like your very presence strengthens me and restores my faith." **_

_**When he didn't respond she let out a nervous laugh. **_

"**_It's silly, I know. I'm—" He cut her off. _**

"**_It's not silly at all. I feel the same way."_ **

He didn't treat her like a child; he listened patiently to everything she said. Even when something she said sounded demented to her ears, he didn't rebuke or laugh at her. He knew she was a full grown, intelligent, and strong-willed woman and respected her even though he was _way _stronger than she.

Heck, there were so many things she loved about him she could barely think of anything she _didn't_ like. She even enjoyed his flaws; they were what made him more loving and human. What did it matter if he was an S-class criminal? He was the one who reached out and saved her from her pit of despair. Oh, how she missed him!

**

* * *

**

The loss of a loved one is just too much to bear.

* * *

"Sasori…I miss you. The pain…it won't go away…. I don't think it will, until I see you again." she whispered sadly to the wind, staring emptily at the midnight sky above her.

How long had it been since death torn them apart? How long has it been since she last seen his face, seen the smile he showed only to her? To the woman he loved. Her,Sakura

Far too long.

"_**Sasori?"**_

"_**Hn. What?"**_

"**_You should smile more often. It's not like it is going to kill you or anything. It takes more muscles to frown than to smile, you know." she babbled, feeling slightly foolish for even mentioning the subject. He arched an eyebrow, staring hard at her. His eyes were solemn and unblinking. "Never mind. Forget what I said." _**

**_She turned her head away, cheeks burning furiously. She should have known this wouldn't be going anywhere; this was Sasori, the puppet master who exchanged his human body for a puppet one so he wouldn't have to feel emotions. Sakura wondered if hard it was to try to smile if you had a wooden face. Suddenly, a cool hand was resting underneath her chin and turned her head the other way to face Sasori. He still was staring at her with those penetrating eyes of his but there was a smile on his face. Not a smirk. A _smile_. A _real _smile. _**

_**He continued to grin at her bewildered face and said, "So…will it do?" Sakura nodded, unable to find her voice at the moment. Satisfied, and with his hand still holding her chin, he leaned in and claimed her lips, the smile still on his face. **_

Sakura grinned fondly of the memory; it was such a short, cute period through the time they had shared together. Who would have thought Sasori could have such an adorable smile?

She laughed out loud at the thought of Sasori glaring at her if he ever heard her calling him adorable. But the laughing ceased, for the kuniochi remembered what become of Sasori, her love. He was dead and nothing could change that. The pain aching in her heart would never go away, it would always remain inside of her, ripping and tearing the lifeless fragments of her forgotten soul and wounded heart.

**

* * *

**

The pain soon becomes a part of you. It becomes a weight bearing down on your body. It becomes your bottomless pit of never ending grief.

* * *

She clutched her chest, as if the mental pain shot through her heart and punctured it. Silent tears slithered down her face, dampening her cheeks and clothing. Hands still on her heart she tilted her head upward, gazing wistfully at the phosphorescence orb suspending over her. The light of moon shimmered down on Sakura and her surroundings, shedding light to the enigmatic, eerie shadows around her. The moonlight bathed the pink-haired kuniochi in a ghostly glow, making her appear supernatural or something unearthly.

Facing the pure white moon above her, Sakura wiped away the tears and focused her eyes up to the shinning sphere in the night sky. A small smile steadily was dragged across her lips as the memory of the most breathtaking and jubilant moment of her life was rekindled and it happened right under the very same moon.

"…_**Sakura?"**_

"_**Yes, Sasori?" **_

**_They had been lying on the willowy grass for hours, huddled together and gazing deeply at the velvet black sky, its twinkling stars, and the ever so shinning moon. The puppet master had now turned his head sideways so he could face her. She did the same and waited with anticipation on what he would say next. _**

"_**This may sound a bit blunt and out of the blue, Sakura, but frankly, I am not one to beat around the bush." He paused, looking deeply into her eyes, locking his dark ones into her green ones. "Will you marry me, Sakura?" **_

_**At first there was silence and chirping of the crickets. Life itself was paused, as if Sakura's answer would unfreeze it from the suspenseful grip it was in. **_

"**_Oh Sasori…." Sakura's voice was barely above a whisper, "do you really mean that?" The crimson-headed shinobi nodded and Sakura broke into a wide grin. _**

"**_Of course!" she squealed, embracing him in a tight hug that crushed parts of his ribs, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Smiling for a long time in his bleak life, Sasori wrapped his arms around the medic ninja who was now officially his fiancée and drew her closer to him. At last, in his lifetime, there was someone he cared deeply about and would spend the rest of his life with. He finally was accepted by the one woman he loved and they will always be together, forever. _**

"_**Thank you, Sakura…." He whispered softly to her. "Thank you for believing in me and making me the happiest man alive."**_

**_The only witnesses to the couple's joy were the sky, the stars, the wildlife, and…the moon._**

"I can never forget that splendid day," Sakura murmured to herself, "It was night to remember."

And the days and nights after that. The very next day Sakura arranged to have a secret, private meeting with her best friend, Ino, and deliver the glorious news to her. Expectedly, Ino's first reaction was a shriek and a gigantic, bone-breaking hug while exclaiming how much Sakura had grown up. After practically shoving Ino off of her to get some air, she asked Ino if she would be her Maid of Honor at her and Sasori's wedding. The loud blonde immediately accepted, joyous that her friend had ultimately found someone special to share the rest of her life with. In the past, Ino had Shikamaru, and the other kuniochis had their own guys as well. As for Sakura…she had no one. There wasn't that special someone that every girl in her lifetime wishes to find in Sakura's life and she was beginning to believe she was better off alone. That all changed since the day Sasori entered into her life and changed her world completely…but for the better.

With assistance from Ino, Sakura plotted out everything that was to occur at the wedding: who would be invited, seating arrangements, where the decorations would be, the outfits, the choreography, the scenery, the banquet, the wedding cake, the music, and just about anything else that was necessary or mandatory. While the other Akatsuki members helped Sasori pick out his suit, Ino helped Sakura find hers. She could still remember it now, oh how beautiful it was!

The kimono was made from black satin with tiny red and silver dragons littering the fabric. Miniature yellow daggers were also scattered across the material. The obi on the back was a deep, dark scarlet color. At the ends of her sleeves were silver sequences circling all around the cuffs. The sandals she wore were pure ebony, blacker than night itself. Her rosette hair was down, curled and swirled, done by the compliments of Ino herself. Sasori had once told her he loved watching her long hair sway peacefully with the wind. No make-up adorned Sakura's face, for she really didn't need it. Her face was a thing of nature and was perfect without the use of beauty products.

As she walked down the aisle, linking arms with Naruto (whom the Akatsuki promised not to attack since it was her and Sasori's wedding day), she got her first glimpse of Sasori all dressed up. The puppet master was mighty handsome.

Instead of his usual Akatsuki cloak and garb, Sasori was clad in forest green with white designs covering the green wedding robe. An olive silk sash was tied around his waist and his vibrant crimson hair was combed. He looked like a forest spirit, ready to take her away to his home and forever be at her side, never to let her go. He would always be there for her.

When they finally reached the end, Naruto and Sakura unlinked arms and went to their standing positions. "See yah," he had whispered into her ear and she nodded in response.

Naruto then strolled along the side of the alter, standing between Ino and Kakashi, the only other invites from Kohona. The less people from Kohona knew about Sakura and Sasori's private wedding, the better. Naruto, Ino, and Kakashi all sworn not tell a single soul of this event and Sakura knew them well enough that they would keep their word.

Grinning broadly, Sakura took her place at Sasori and the bride and groom faced the pastor, who in fact wasn't really a pastor at all, but an S-class criminal as well. A religious one, to be exact. Due to Sakura and Sasori's stressing to keep the wedding a secret, no outside civilians was to be hired to partake in the wedding ceremony. Thus, the job of pastor fell on shoulders of Hidan, who was the only really religious person around. Shockingly enough, he _actually _agreed to it. Sakura swore she saw pigs flying around for a brief moment before crashing back down to the ground and becoming bacon after hearing **that**.

To Sakura, everything went by in a blur. One minute Hidan was beginning the ceremony and the next he was commanding Sasori to kiss the bride. Meaning her.

The cool lips of Sasori crashed down onto her own, and their arms locked each other in a tight embrace. Applause echoed through her ears and she bubbled with happiness inside. The moment she dreamt one day had finally came true. The day she once thought would never happen to her. Marriage to the man she loves.

As they broke apart, Sakura gazed up to Sasori, a huge grin on her face. The puppet master also had a small one on his and held her warm hands in his own chilly ones. Now they were one. They would be together, always. Forever and ever.

"Till death due us apart, Sasori," she whispered to him. He tucked a stand of her pink hair behind her ear.

"No, Sakura. Nothing can tear us apart, not even death. We are joined by heart, body, mind, and…soul. We will always be together even if one of us is not by the other's side. We are with each other in spirit." Tears of joy welled up in the rosette-haired kuniochi's eyes and blinked to force them back. She embraced him again, burrowing her head at the crook of his neck.

"You are right. From this day on, we are bonded. And no one or nothing can break that."

**

* * *

**

It is a cruel and wicked world out there. As soon as you find happiness it comes along and snatches it away.

* * *

Blood. Blood everywhere. Staining the moist, dewy grass, turning emerald into ruby. Some of it her own. Some of it the enemies. Not his. He was puppet therefore he shed no blood. But it wasn't the blood she looking at or the enemy ninjas.

It was Sasori she was staring at.

Sasori's lifeless, broken body.

Sasori's cloudy, lackluster eyes.

None of his limbs were twitching or even moving. No sound came from his parted lips, no brightness returned to the puppet master's cold eyes.

The truth came crashing down Sakura. The truth she refused to believe. The truth she was afraid of.

The truth that he was **dead.**

**

* * *

**

Sometimes it can be so much better to deny **reality than acknowledge the truth.

* * *

**

"Sa…Sasori?"

No sound came from the wooden carcass.

"Sasori? Sasori?"

A gentle breeze replied, steadily yet soberly swirling in the air. It whirled around Sakura, blowing her pink hair that was glistening with sweat out of her eyes and harshly forcing her to reality.

Sasori was dead. Killed by her own village. Killed by the Kohona ninjas. Killed in two months after their wedding day.

"SASORI!" screamed the horrified kuniochi, rushing to her lover's deceased body. She sank to ground, wrapping her arms around the upper portion of Sasori's body and laying him on her lap. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she cradled his vibrant wavy head in her hands.

Why was this happening? Why them? Why her? Why him? Why did Kohona have to do this? Why couldn't they have just left her and Sasori alone? Why was he dead and she wasn't? Why couldn't they live happily ever after, as the couples did in those ridiculous fairy tales?

**

* * *

**

No matter what the storybook says there will always be a tragic ending for some. No matter how many questions are asked, very few will get answered.

* * *

"Sasori! Sasori! Please wake up! You can't be dead!" she cried out hysterically. Tears trickled down her face, sliding down her chin, landing on the empty face of Sasori, the grand puppet master of the Akatsuki. Sakura bent her head down, her forehead softly touching the top of her beloved's pale, cool head. She felt no warmth in him. She felt no life stirring inside him. He was really, truly dead.

_No…Sasori…. How can you be dead? _

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura stiffen at the sound of her name, spoken from a shinobi within the crowd of the ANBUs. She recognized instantly who the voice belonged to.

"Yes, Genma?" she replied sourly, her hands balling up into fists.

"By the orders of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade herself, you are charged with treason by joining the Akatsuki and we are to bring you back to Kohona. Do you have anything to say before we take you back?" said Genma monotonously, the senbon needle flicking up and down.

A dark, sadistic grin slowly curled itself across Sakura's face and she withdrew herself from Sasori's corpse. Forming a battle strategy in her mind, her right hand began inching for her weapons while her left was prepared to summon a special technique Sasori taught her when they got married. She'll give Genma and the ANBU something to think about once she's through with them!

Genma looked uneasily at Sakura's changed attitude and prepared himself for a head-on encounter with the pink-haired kuniochi. The ANBU were already prepared and waiting for the medic nin to attack. Mocking laughter flew from the kuniochi's lips at their actions.

"I have my answer for you, Genma: Not a chance in hell!" He and the ANBU were pelted with kunai knives, throwing stars, and senbon needles.

"Sakura!" yelled Genma as he dodged the weapons this way and that. "You must come with us!"

No reply came. "Sakura!"

The ANBU had already scattered, searching for the suddenly disappeared Sakura. After when she threw the weapons, she vanished. But she was nearby, watching, waiting. Genma didn't know what her relationship was with that crimson-haired puppet master, but based on her reactions to his death, the relationship had to have been deep.

The brunette shinobi observed his surroundings, wondering where Sakura was hiding and if she was watching him the way a tiger stalks a herd full of antelope.

"Sakura, if you can hear me, then listen! If you come with me and the ANBU I bet your sentence will be less severe." he called out to the wild, two kunai knives in hand.

"Why should I?" came a female whisper in his ear, breathing down his neck. Genma spun around, caught off guard by Sakura's sudden appearance. It appeared during her stay with the Akatsuki she learned how to conceal her chakra masterly. As he went to face Sakura behind him, he halted. She wasn't there.

_Holy shi—_

"Behind you."

A fist collided with his face before he could respond. The shinobi flew across the forest floor, ramming into trees as he went. Before he was completely out of the woods, Sakura came behind him and shoved him all the back to their battle area. Genma was going faster than bird of prey doing a nose spin and practically landed on his face. Sakura gracefully landed in front of him, looking down his disgruntled expression.

"Having fun, are we?" he spat at her and she replied with a smirk.

"Don't worry; I'm not finished with you. I want to try the technique Sasori taught me on you."

Genma's eyes widen. "A technique Sasori…taught you?" he gasped, struggling to rejuvenate his energy. Sakura nodded at his bewildered face and rapidly preformed the hand signs to begin the jutsu.

"Yes, he taught me this trick the day after our wedding," she stated calmly, executing the remaining seals. Genma's eyes widen even further and his mouth hung open slightly. Sakura…married? To Sasori?!

Genma glanced at the fallen figure of the puppet master. "You are saying that man we killed is—"

"—my husband." With the final say in, she slammed her palms together, creating the last seal to complete the jutsu.

"**Final Dance of the Puppets!"**

Back on his feet, Genma knew just by hearing the jutsu's name that he was dead meat.

_Oh crap. What the hell am I going to do? And where are the ANBU? They should be sensing Sakura's chakra by now! _

Little did Genma know that all the ANBU were dead. He didn't know he was sole Kohona ninja so far alive in this mission. But he did know he probably wasn't going to last much longer.

"Genma, this is where it all ends," declared the jade-eyed kuniochi vindictively and out of nowhere, wooden puppets descend down upon her, gently landing by her side. With a tilt of her head towards Genma, the massive mob of puppets enclosed around the long-haired brunette in a tight circle and started their dance.

Their dance of death.

**

* * *

**

Once a heart is broken, it cannot be replaced.

* * *

"**_Haruno Sakura, for the deaths of forty ANBUs and Genma, and joining the Akatsuki, I hereby sentence you to death in three months time." Tsunade announced coldly, glaring down at her former apprentice. Sakura just shrugged her shoulders and titled her head back to the dull ceiling above her._**

"_**If you didn't send Genma and the others after me, they would still be alive and I wouldn't be here. I would have been with Sori-kun." **_

**_Tsunade bristled at the adoring tone she used of the Suna S-ranked criminal Sasori._**

"**_Sakura, don't you understand why I commanded for your return?!" she demanded fiercely, slamming a hand down at the surface of her podium. The other council members winced at the abrupt loudness but Sakura didn't twitch or even bat an eyelash. _**

"**_Tsunade, don't you understand why I didn't want to return?" she questioned with a bored tone, eyes fixed on ceiling. Tsunade's fingers curled into a semi-fist and the Fifth Hokage tried her best to block out the answer her mind was hurling at her. It was too painful to even confront. _**

**_Hearing no reply, Sakura drew her gaze away from the ceiling and unto her former teacher. Jade locked onto ebony and Tsunade suddenly felt intimidated under Sakura's calm, deathly stare. Her apprentice knew she couldn't bring herself to reply to her question thus Sakura would do it for her. _**

_**Tsunade braced herself for the terrible, earth-shattering statement.**_

"_**I joined the Akatsuki because I fell in love…with Sasori."**_

**

* * *

**

When the one you loved is gone from your arms your meaning in life just simply evaporates.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes, all the memories flooding back to her. After when the puppets killed Genma, the rest of the Kohona ninjas came swarming after a few days later and she allowed them to find her. With Sasori gone and his murderers dead, she could finally rest in peace with the knowledge that he was avenged and they could be together in death. She didn't know if the other Akatsuki members would risk their lives to free her, even if she was one of them. All she hoped was that they found Sasori's body and gave him a proper burial. That was all she could ever ask for now.

She looked up at the pitch black sky, eyes tracing the glittering specs the littered the sky and glowing sphere hanging all around them.

"If I was there sooner, Sasori, I could have helped you fend off those forty ANBU and Genma and we would be together right now," she muttered to the wind and the night wonder above her. "But I didn't, so therefore you died. I was fully prepared to die along with you after Tsunade gave me the death sentence but…."

Her death sentence had been postponed from three months to nine months. All because the medics discovered that she was pregnant. Pregnant with Sasori's child.

**

* * *

**

It is amazing how one, small thing can totally alter the wheels of fate and the current of destiny. It can change a person's life completely.

* * *

When she heard the news, Sakura was overjoyed. Inside her womb was a tiny spark of life, made by her and Sasori. He didn't leave from her completely; he left a piece of him inside of her. Their child. Their developing baby boy.

Yes, Sakura knew the gender of the fetus before the medics did. She was a medic nin, after all, and the finest in Kohona. It was no surprise to anyone when she surpassed Tsunade in her expertise. But that was ages ago, when she still was a loyal shinobi to Leaf. Before she first meet Sasori and a hidden love blossomed between them.

How she wished she was back in the Akatsuki again, back in Sasori's arms! She could imagine Sasori's happiness once she broke the news to him that in nine months they would be parents. She could imagine them discussing names for their future son, debating on whose names were better.

Instead she would pick out her son's name all by herself and watch her best friend Ino and her fiancé, Shikamaru, take her child away from her and raise as their own. It was Sakura's choice, of course, but her heart still ached at the thought of someone else raising her child.

She stroked her stomach fondly, smiling down at the unnoticeable bulge. It will get bigger as the months go by, and soon she will be cradling a baby boy in her arms. That thought alone was enough to lull Sakura into a deep, tranquil slumber.

**

* * *

**

The joy of a new life cannot be described with words.

* * *

Nine months whizzed by and Sakura happily found herself alone. All alone with her newborn son.

"Hello there, little one," Sakura cooed at the wide-eyed baby boy bundled up in her arms. The infant laughed and clapped his hands, delighted by the sounds his mother was making. The tiny child wrapped his pudgy fingers around his mother's pointer finger, amused by this sort of game. He had no clue that he was the son of an infamous S-class criminal of the dreaded Akatsuki, the great puppet master Akasuna no Sasori and the former apprentice of Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage,-and one of the legendary Sannin- Haruno Sakura. Both whom Kohona fear and dislike with a passion.

After freeing her finger from her son's puny fist, Sakura gently stroked his fuzzy, warm head. His hair was the color of light raspberries and stuck up the same angle his father's did. In the dark, his hair looked more red than usual but in the light Sakura could detect a visible tint of light pink in his mass of curls.

Another appearance trait he picked from Sasori's genes was his pale skin. His smooth, soft baby skin made a perfect contract to the paleness given by his dad. It was like looking at the mini version of him, only he had her eyes. Her lovely, fierce jade eyes.

"Hi, cutie," she whispered, marveling how adorable and innocent her son appeared. It seemed nothing could wipe the jubilant smile off her son's face. The smile was always on his face when she was with him. The same went with her. Happiness was around her every time she looked at him, held him, played with him, or talked to him. He was her only hope in life she had left, the last thing that kept her from departing this earthly world into the unknown, divine abyss of Heaven and Hell.

But what would be his name? Sakura had pondered on that question endlessly, racking out all the male names she could think of and searching for some other ones she hadn't came across yet. She had no idea what to name her son; it had to be perfect for him! She didn't want him to grow up hating his name just like she did because the name sounded harmless or 'weak'. She wanted to give him a bold, unique name for him to be proud of and never be ashamed of who he is and who his parents were.

_If only Sasori was here. He'd help out with this name dilemma. Frankly, who would have thought giving an infant a name would be so difficult?_

Cradling her now sleeping son, Sakura looked out the window and gazed deeply at the night. Remembering all the splendid memories she shared with Sasori under the night sky and the ghostly moon, Sakura smiled sadly at night's friendly appearance. As she strained her neck to up at the moon she generally enjoys to see, an instant thought struck her. The moon. Sasori and their son's crimson hair. She looked down her son's fiery head and focused her eyes back to the moon.

Shinkutsuki._ Crimson moon. _Named after two of things she loved so dearly.

A low, relieved sigh of triumph escaped the kuniochi's lips; glad she had finally found the perfect name for her infant son. Gingerly placing him into his cradle, she stared fondly at his slumbering form.

"Sweet dreams, Shinkutsuki." she whispered longingly and turned off the lights, allowing the room to fade into darkness.

Sakura slept in the bed beside Shinkutsuki's crib, knowing tonight was her last night with her son before he was taken away to Ino and Shikamaru and she was publicly executed.

_I hope you become a terrific shinobi one day, little Shinkutsuki. _

**

* * *

**

Alas, fate is so fickle. For good or ill, it sends the tides of destiny your way.

* * *

In the shadows of the night, seven cloaked men facing each other in a tight semi-circle, strategizing the final parts of their plans.

"After when Deidara, Tobi, Zetsu, Hidan, and Kakuzo are in disguise and distract the Kohona shinobis at these separate locations, Kisame and I will infiltrate the building they are keeping Sakura in." The Sharingan master pointed to the small, green square on the map. Deidara looked closely at it, reading the letters underneath. Perplexed, his blonde eyebrows furrowed deeply after he finished.

"Itachi, why is Sakura in the compound for convicted kuniochis who are pregnant or formally pregnant— Oh." His eyes widen as he finished say the last bit before stopping. It had never occurred to him before that Sakura was pregnant with his former partner's child. His mind gotten used to all the puppet gadgetry in Sasori that he forgot there were still some human parts inside-and outside-of him. "Do we know anything about the kid, yeah?"

Itachi nodded. "From our scouts, the infant is a boy and will be taken in by a close friend of Haruno Sakura."

"But that won't happen, un." The elder Uchiha smirked at the blonde artist, the answer crystal clear.

"Correct. Now, let's move."

**

* * *

**

Help can come in the most abnormal ways.

* * *

"…Sakura?"

"_**Sakura?"**_

"_**Sasori? What is it?" **_

"Sakura!"

"**_Come away with me." _**

"Wake up, Sakura."

"Wha…?"

A blotch of blue blocked her view. She focused her eyes, clearing the grogginess from her head and her vision returned to normal. The blue blob became a face with gills marks along its cheeks. Her eyes widen in disbelief and she cracked into a grin after realizing who it was.

"Kisame?!" The shark shinobi smirked and nodded. She sprung out of her bed, only to face the elder Uchiha. "Itachi! What are you two doing here?!"

"What does it look like, Sakura?" Itachi answered monotonously.

"We're getting you out of this place!" finished Kisame, his mouth twisted into a cocky grin. At this, Sakura's eyes brighten and her beam widen even further.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, giving a hug to Kisame and Itachi, "Thank you both!"

Without wasting any time, she raced around the room to pack her things, taking along anything she or Shinkutsuki might need during the trip. Everything else would be left behind. She had food, water, clothes, weapons, deodorant, bathroom necessities, Shinkutsuki's favorite toys, diapers, his formula, baby powder, bottles, blankets, and few more personal possessions. Itachi observed Sakura with cool, calculating eyes and then glanced over at the crib beside him.

Inside laid a baby boy, fast asleep in a world of dreams. Itachi saw Sasori's scarlet hair, his pale skin, and his strength while also seeing Sakura's traits in the boy as well. Their child would indeed grow up to strong and powerful, make no mistake about that.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" said a soft voice from behind him. Itachi didn't bother turning around, he knew it was Sakura. In reply, he nodded and Kisame agreed with a "yeah."

"He has so much of his father in him," whispered Sakura sadly, gazing proudly at the slumbering figure of the infant.

"But he also reminds me of his mother," Itachi remarked stoically. A half-smile appeared on Sakura's lips but she said nothing. She went back to packing, assembling last-minute items into her bags and scanning the room for anything she could have missed.

"By the way, Sakura, we're going to the lair by a transportation jutsu. That way your kid doesn't get harmed." informed Kisame. Sakura breathed out a sigh relief; she had been worrying about how Shinkutsuki would fare during the travel to the Akatsuki lair.

"That's a relief. Well, I'm all set. Just let me get Shinkutsuki in his harness and we'll be ready to go." The two men waited patiently as Sakura gingerly woke up her son, coaxing him to be quiet and began getting him into his harness. Surprisingly, Shinkutsuki complied without a fuss and eventually snoozed off just as soon Sakura placed him in the harness. She assured Itachi and Kisame that Shinkutsuki was a heavy sleeper and wouldn't be waking up now anytime soon.

_Shinkutsuki…._ Both Akatsuki members thought, _Crimson moon…. What a name for the son of Sasori._

The three shinobis 'poofed' out of the cell, now that the two male ninjas beforehand had easily broken through the jutsu that had prevented any ninja from entering or leaving the building through stealth or by jutsus alone.

As Sakura left the building that contained her for so many cruel and painful months, a flutter of joy and excitement tingled through her veins. _Freedom. _That was the one word she longed to have, to taste, to bask in its splendor. Now she could.

When Haruno Sakura and her son, Shinkutsuki, slipped out of Kohona with the aid of seven Akatsuki members, the Leaf Village roared in rage at her clever escape. Sakura roared in triumph that she had, at last, escaped from her prison. She was finally free, free as the wind.

**_She was free forever more._** **_And nothing on earth could change that._**

**

* * *

**

When the Lord closes a door, he always opens up a window.

* * *

"Ready, Sakura?" asked Itachi. Sakura nodded, joining the huddled figures of Kisame, Deidara, Tobi, Itachi, Hidan, Kakuzo and Zetsu.

"Do it." she commanded firmly and the Sharingan master began performing the seals for the transportation jutsu. As the forests of Kohona began to fade and dissolve, Sakura looked down at the peaceful Shinkutsuki who was still asleep.

_Everything's going to be fine for us now, Shinkutsuki. We are now with our friends and they'll take good care of us. You'll have the life me and Sasori wanted for you. _

Stroking his hair, Sakura allowed one, final memory of Sasori to sweep her away before the transportation jutsu finished its course and brought them to the Akatsuki base.

_**Sakura stared unbelievably at the crimson-haired man standing before, her mind comprehending what he had just asked her. **_

"_**You want me to leave Kohona? Leave my village?" she asked, a gasp lodged in her throat. Sasori cast his eyes at the ground, already not liking where this was going. "Sasori…I don't know what to say. I…."**_

"_**You don't have to say anything. Sooner or later Kohona will find out about us and they will imprison you for our relationship. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Sakura smiled softly, loving on how caring the puppet master could be towards her. Honestly, he was warmer than plenty of other human beings she knew. Sasuke was a perfect example. How could she had ever fallen for an egoistical, cold-hearted jerk like him? **_

**_But Sasori struck a good point. In time Kohona would grow suspicious of her frequent disappearances and abrupt, so-called 'trainings' and eventually discover her relationship between an S-class criminal that was consequently enough a member of the notorious Akatsuki. Sakura knew not in a million years will Leaf allow this, they interrogate her while trying to dispatch off Sasori. This was something she forbade to happen. _**

**_Where did the loyalty _really _lie? To Kohona or Sasori? For a village she barely knew anymore or to the very man she loves and loves her back? _**

**_A grin formed itself on her face. The answer now was simple. _**

**_To reply to Sasori's offer, Sakura unsheathed a kunai knife from her weapons pouch and held it up at her face. Quick as lightning, the kunai knife sliced through the metal of her Leaf headband. Watching Sasori's reaction to her movements with satisfaction, she deposited the knife back into its pouch. Striding over to her lover, Sakura took his hand, looked up into his eyes, and gave him a peck on the cheek._**

"**_Let's go, Sori-kun," she whispered. He smirked and nodded, drawing her close to him. She nuzzled against his muscular chest while he rested his chin on her bubblegum head._**

"**_With pleasure, my lovely cherry blossom." _**

**_They were gone in a whirlwind of chakra. _**

_Sasori may be gone in flesh but he hasn't left me in spirit. He will always be at my side, no matter what. He never left me then, and he'll never leave me now. _

"Till death due us apart, Sasori," she muttered quietly enough only for herself to hear it, "But someday, I'll restore you to your former glory, Sori-kun, and we will be together again."

"One day, you'll be alive and can finally see your son. That's a promise."

* * *

"**Death cannot stop true love."-Westley, the Princess Bride

* * *

**

So…how was it? This was my first one-shot, my first Naruto fic, my first angst, bittersweet fic…this fanfic was made up by a lot of firsts. Since I haven't read the manga where Sasori first enters, I use what I've read in past stories about him to build up on his character. If he was OOC, I'm regrettably sorry but I did that best I can.

I know I killed off Sasori and I'm going to hate myself for that. I wanted to write a bittersweet romance one-shot and before I knew it, the story ended up being about Sasori and Sakura. Since I prefer happier endings than this one and am rather huge SasoSaku fan myself, I'll be planning on making another SasoSaku fanfic, only this time, it will end up happy. Satisfied? Well, that's all, expect for you to review. Till then, I bid you all adieu!

**----SpeedDemon315**


	2. Sequel Announcement

The sequel is out as I speak! It's called **Bringing Back What's Dead.**

Check it out!

**_--SpeedDemon315_**


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